Atlas teleported out of the bridge to where Anahira was. When he arrived she seemed to be distant from what she used to even more, day by day she strayed far from what she once was as Atlas had. Atlas began by saying, “Times are about to change, my plan is going smoothly so far, now comes time for the hardest part.” She answered, “What might that be?” Alas said, “I must leave you again, to go through with a plan that may end up tearing apart the Universe and everything in it. I will do everything in my power to stop that from happening but I cannot ensure my own safety. I never can, with the power I am responsible for.” Anahira asked, “What happened at the planet, the one with those rebels?” Atlas replied, “They angered me, and the paid the price. If you want to go anywhere on the ship let me know, I can allow you access to all parts of it, there are more scenic parts than this dreary room.” Anahira said, “I’ll think about it, just hope that your plan is truly what you want. You don’t want to end up regretting things you should’ve done, or should not have done. You’ve done it before with me right. I hope this is really what you want.”

Atlas turned and walked away, thinking to himself, ‘I hope so too.’ Atlas walked a far way and thought of a better place to walk, his prison. He teleported to the massive complex hidden within his ship only he could go. He came upon one of the cells and opened it revealing an all too familiar face to him, The Blademaster of the temple where he was first sent. This cell was nicer than the other's and was less, evil. The Blademaster looked at him and said, “You have indeed exceeded my expectations Reaper. You have taken the gifts we taught you and enhanced them in your own way, with your inherited power. You are immensely strong now, far more than you were before, scarily I might add.” Atlas said, “You can feel my power?” The Blademaster replied, “Aye, it is hard not too. I barely felt it when we first met but now it reeks from you like a stench that one cannot be rid of. How has your bladework been since last we spared?” Atlas said, “Exceptional, I cannot be beaten, not even by mountain sized lizards.” The Blademaster responded, “Good, good. So you are filling in nicely to your role I see.” Atlas said, “Yeah, something like that. I would very much like you to leave your current living quarters and help my research department craft blades, they are good, but they lack perfect balance.” The Blademaster said, “What if I don’t want to?” Atlas replied, “It wasn’t a question.”

Atlas brought the Blademaster to the research division and introduced him to the team and to Gerault who had just finished perfecting the magnetic back holster for the lmg. Atlas said to the group once they all had gathered, “This will be your new blade designer and tester. No other in this Universe I have found yet better understands a blade than this man, he is also the one that taught me to first use a blade. Listen to what he has to say, he knows what he’s talking about. Now let's test this magnetic holster out.” Atlas grabbed went to grab the machine gun when Gerault said, “Wait, I should probably put them on the gun first, and these are the armour ones for the back plates.” Atlas put the back ones on first and waited for Gerault to put the other's on the gun. When Gerault was done Atlas grabbed the lmg and placed over his right shoulder and onto his back where the back holders held the gun in place solid as a rock. Atlas then went to take the gun back over his shoulder and it released with ease at the slightest thought. He then thought of it only works when he has a hand on it, he made the changes to the devices and tried it again. Satisfied with the work he said to Gerault, “Fine job, we are almost ready to continue on with the plan. No weapon you can make will be strong enough to do what I need it to do, which is why I will offer my blade, which is not even strong enough. Recreate my blade using a material that is listed at the bottom of the list, very hard to find, and very dangerous to get. The Nebrechions are masters at getting this material, which is also why they are my crew.”

Gerault asked, “The Nebrechions? Oh you mean those little guys.” Atlas said, “Yes, the little guys. They could tear you apart and would if they heard you say that. They are pretty much the best at everything, except for intelligence. On a Universe scale they are geniuses, but as far as their planet goes, they were not so lucky. Now I must return to the Daedalus, I will come back when the Realm of the Three is in sight and see what progress you’ve made.” Atlas teleported out and came to the bridge. He asked Karee, “How long do we have?” Karee answered, “You have a while don’t worry, we are a few Hypersystems away still.” Atlas replied, “Good, I need to downsize our prison. I’ll return shortly.” Atlas teleported to the prison and he hit a button, which released every single thing that was held in there. Atlas held out a hand, and one by one in blind rage from the madness every prisoner gained from being in darkness for so long with nothing, always hungry and thirsty, every want just out of reach, they were angry. Atlas soul harvested each and every one of them. He did not stop until the prison was empty, nothing remained. He teleported back to the bridge and said, “That is done, there was little resistance.” Atlas walked over to the head Nebrechion and said, “I have a new task for your builders, the blueprints are already there and follow them to a T. This must be perfect if it’s going to work. I have faith in you, you have never failed or disappointed me. So don't start now eh?” Atlas opened a way to the prison complex and let the Nebrechions in, they started to build following the blueprints to the best of their ability.

Atlas went back to the bridge and sat in his chair the same one he once thought was so comfortable but now gave him no feeling of comfort or of discomfort, no feeling at all. This concerned him, not only the fact that he could feel nothing from the chair he could not even feel the touch of the chair, he wondered if it was his armour preventing him from feeling it. He stood and took his armour off and sat back down. He still felt nothing, he thought of all the other things he has not felt in a long time, the wind for one, bark on trees, water, or even the icy embrace of winter. He thought back to the moment he absorbed Veruchion, that was the start of the loss of his feeling for most things. Like the mass power gain of one who was by all means a god in this Universe, and not to mention the most powerful being in the Universe. He thought of the feelings he no longer felt and he was indifferent than when he felt them for the first time. He sat in his chair, staring our into the expanse of space, nothing to some people, everything to him. He could see not only the black, but the white. He could feel the ever existing energy flowing through and around everything, he could see it if he looked hard enough. He saw perfection, until he saw the smallest flaw in the equation, a glitch in the theoretical matrix of the Universe’s core. He saw only a small mistake, but added up over millennia it grows worse and worse. It was him.

He searched through the memories of Veruchion in search of the answer and he found it very quickly. In the beginning the Five brothers made the Universe and all energy in it, they made it equal as well, a definite amount never to change, grow, or lessen. When Veruchion was created and brought into the Universe by the Five, he was made using outside energy, thus unbalancing the equation. Upon his creation, a thing so needed by the Five and so overlooked by them that they brought upon their own deaths by doing so. This made Atlas realize, he should not exist, he should not be here if the Five had not created Veruchion, he would not be sitting in his chair within the bridge of the Daedalus, he would not be needing to fix the problems of the Five, he would not need to be the Reaper. He was, no, he IS, The Reaper of That Which Was Sown, and he would no longer play by the Five’s game, he will show them their mistake, he will make them know they were their own murderers. As wise as the Five are, for all of their power, seen as infinite throughout the Universe, this was the single easiest thing to overlook, and the single hardest thing to fix. Atlas stared on and on into the expanse of space, seeing everything, realizing everything he missed before. He did not miss those things because he was not able too but he was too ignorant to. It is the same ignorance that kept Earth in constant fighting and disagreement, the same ignorance all species and races have. They all think they are the top of the food chain and they might be on their planet, but there is only one on the top of the food chain, Atlas.

His thoughts were disrupted by a large explosion from the rear of the ship which only Atlas noticed at first as he was aware of all happenings on the Daedalus. He got up suddenly and teleported to near where it happened. He arrived and saw it was the Nebrechion who had accidentally dropped a volatile chemical that was a byproduct of their methods of building, which Atlas used as fuel for the Daedalus and the prototype fighter. He surveyed the damages and they were not severe, he yelled several orders at them and held out a hand, sucking the flames towards him and turning their heat into power for himself. Once the flames were gone and the Nebrechions went to work rebuilding and continuing Atlas’s request, no Nebrechions were hurt by the explosion. Upon returning to the bridge Atlas was greeted by Korvan who began, “Something is off about you Atlas. Its as if the more power you gain the further you stray from yourself, the more Fourth you become.” Atlas answered, “I have changed only in power, nothing else, maybe as well as knowledge. You need not worry about that, only the Helios Beam and keeping that little promise of yours.” Korvan glanced at Karee who was busy checking systems and keeping an eye that their course is not strayed. Korvan said, “I will keep it, that you can be sure of.” Atlas added in with a laugh, “It’s just a question of when though right?” Korvan smirked and said, “I’ll do it when I do it ok, it’s not like we aren’t immortal.” Atlas said, “Don’t let that go to your head, or you’ll always say ‘I have forever’, trust me, I’ve been through it before. I went through with it as well. The question now is, are you man enough to go through with it.”

Atlas left Korvan in deep thought and he continued to peer into the expanse of space, feeling his life’s biggest challenge looming in the distance. He stood up and said, “I’m going for a walk, let me know when we are close.” He started to walk out of the Daedalus when yet another explosion went off. He teleported to the scene and this time it had claimed a few Nebrechions in the blast and injured several others. Atlas kneeled beside the bodies and wondered if he could make their byproduct less volatile, he retrieved a barrel and teleported into the research area where he was met by Gerault who asked, “What’ll it be this time, a fine blade perhaps?” Atlas said, “Not this time, What I need is a fix for the Nebrechions constant exploding byproduct of their building process. I have a barrel here, and try not to drop it, it will explode. I have a build ongoing and they’ve dropped four barrels of it already, it is very tiring. I don’t want it to happen, if you can find a way do de volatize it then do so, if not, then find a way to easier transport it or safer store it.” Gerault said, “We will do our best, just let us know if you want anything else as well.” Atlas teleported out and restarted his walk through the Daedalus.

After about an hour he teleported back to the research are to see if Geralt had finished his work and he had. He found a compound which stabilized the byproduct which was very unintensive and the Nebrechions needed only store the waste in it. It was a new type of barrel which easily fit more of it and was guaranteed to prevent any explosion. Atlas was satisfied by his work and returned the barrel to the Nebrechions to have them reproduce and mass produce these new barrels and to trash the other ones so they would reduce explosion risk and return to their work. Atlas teleported to where he stopped his walk and continued on his pacing. He walked for several hours around the Daedalus, passing thousands of Nebrechions, which was the main reason the ship was so large, to fit his crew and workforce. He looked upon them all, seeing them happy to not be dead was really the only thing they showed. He reached the rear of the ship where the massive engines were, remembering what they were like last he was here, smaller that's for sure. He started to walk back when he felt something, a pain, an extreme pain deep within his head. He dropped to one knee and grunted. He searched for the cause and it was the Fire. The Fire was dying within his mind and Atlas felt all of the pain from his life. Atlas asked, “What are you doing?” The Fire answered, “My time has come, I am doing nothing. My sentence is up and I am free, free to die.”

Atlas answered, “We are not done yet, we have more to go, you want to bow out early from the fate which we both wanted. Do you not want revenge for the Seer, I know I do. I was forced to end him, and I aim to end the ones who told me to. I want you to be there and know, so you may rest well and not in pain.” The Fire said, “I do want revenge, but I do not have the strength for it….” Atlas cut him off, “Yes but I do, lend me your strength for one final battle and we both will have the revenge we needed and wanted. You can rest when they are dead and only then.” Atlas focused his power, freeing the Fire from his mind. Atlas created a physical form for the Fire to manifest within, a body for a new soul. As the Fire took shape His fleshly memories flooded back, everything the Fire had done, had seen, rushed through him. Once he was whole again the Fire dropped down to his knees, not used to standing on his own legs, he looked around, eyes hurting because he hadn’t seen through them in so long himself. Atlas stood up and offered him a hand up. Atlas said, “We must finish what we started, with no excuses, and no slowing down….” The Fire said with a voice he hadn’t heard with his own ears in ages, “......and no mercy.”

Atlas brought the Fire to the research area to get him some armour and a weapon. Once Atlas arrived Gerault noticed the Fire in tow and asked, “Who might we have here? Another to add on to our crew?” Atlas said, “No, he is in need of armour and a sword, Have him design it and you will build it, no questions only progress.” Gerault answered, “Yes Atlas….” he directed at the Fire, “......Let's see what you want, we can do anything you wish.” The Fire said, “I shall start by saying my name…...my name is….” As the Fire searched his thoughts for his name, which he had not heard in so long, he forgot it as he became what everyone called him. Atlas looked into his mind, into the Seers memories to find the name. Atlas said, “Vesuvius, that was your name, Vesuvius.” The Fire looked at him and asked, “How would you know that?” Atlas responded, “It was in the seers memories, and he very much wanted to say your name every time you met but he knew he couldn’t, until the masters found out. It is a fitting name.” The Fire heard his name, and he liked to hear it said. He said, “I should like to be called Vesuvius from now on, I want to stray from my time as the Fire, I want to return to what I was before my mistake which led to my brothers death.” Atlas nodded and said, “Gerault I’ll leave you to it then, come up with something I’ll be back in a bit.” Atlas teleported out leaving the Fire, now called by his name, Vesuvius and Gerault to work out armour and a weapon for Vesuvius. Atlas waited about 5 minutes and teleported back in and he was met with a plan for armour and an axe were made and had been started being built.

Atlas saw Vesuvius in his armour which was a dark red underlaid with black and gold accents. His sword was a finely crafted, perfectly balanced tool of destruction. It had bloodlets down the blade and was serrated for most of it. The pommel was not very flashy aside from a deep sea blue gem which was interlocked with a fiery red gem resided at the very end of the pommel. Atlas recognized this as a gem from the Seer which was on an amulet around his neck which Atlas kept. Atlas said, “You look fitting, like a real wielder of flame. Now let us take a walk.” Atlas and Vesuvius teleported to where the prison block was, and what now was the home to an immensely large central cannon. The cannon spanned the back 75% of the Daedalus and was about as tall as it. Atlas said, “This part will prove to be difficult, but I should be fine. Vesuvius asked, “What is this for, you have the Helios Beam, you don’t really need a bigger gun.” Atlas answered, “Ah, that's the fun part, I don’t need one, but I want one. Besides this is for the Helios Beam, this will not replace it. That is the difficult part thought. Transferring the energy into this cannon and hoping it withstands the power, which I will have to do myself. So let's hope this works.”

Atlas teleported out of the Daedalus, position in front of it and in front of the Helios Beam. He radioed the Nebrechions to release the cannon from its confining walls, which he then radioed Korvan to shoot at him, with the Helios Beam. Atlas began, “I need you to shoot the Helios Beam.” Korvan asked, “What do you mean? There’s nothing to shoot at it with.” Atlas replied, “There is however…...me.” Korvan exclaimed, “What? You want me to shoot you with the Helios Beam, Why?” Atlas said, “Because I told you to, now get on with it.” Korvan hesitated, he then went to the Helios Beam control console and powered it up which caught Karee’s attention. Karee asked, “What are you doing?” Korvan said, “I’m shooting the Helios Beam at Atlas.” Karee said, “Why are you doing that?” Korvan stopped what he was doing, looked at Karee and said, “Because he told me to.” Karee just as confused as Korvan looked out the front of the bridge and saw Atlas floating in the vacuum of space. Karee looked on as Korvan hit the button, sending the massive beam of energy towards Atlas.

Atlas floated, waiting for longer than he wanted to and started to get impatient. He looked towards the bridge and saw Karee appear, and he knew she could see him, but she did not know he could see her. Atlas looked up to see the Helios Beam charging up, the cooling coils flared and shot boiling coolant into space. This was the moment of truth, can he move the thing which he himself was not sure he could. The Helios Beam was within seconds of releasing and Atlas thought, ‘What if this doesn’t work…….ehhh…..too late to turn back now.’ As the Helios Beam erupted, Atlas was truly terrified of its power, he saw it rip through space, the coolant that was floating was immediately vaporized and the Beam Hummed with power. This confused Atlas, he could hear the beam traveling through space, not just the energy either, he could hear a hum, like electricity but on an immensely larger scale. He snapped out of the thoughts and only focused on taking the power and transferring it to the other cannon. He held out both hands and felt the energy racing towards him. As it met him he started to absorb the power, the view from the bridge was one of amazement, the Helios Beam was no longer moving, then it started to move, backwards. Atlas closed his eyes as he was almost blinded by the immense light given off by the Helios Beam, even through his pure black visor. He slowly moved the beam to where it could travel into the cannon, and by his guidance he led it straight into the cannon which was barely able to stand the power. Once the beam stopped, and was fully absorbed into the cannon Atlas teleported to the bridge and fell to one knee, his armour glowed red hot, near melting point. Altas removed the armour and was pouring with sweat. He walked around the bridge trying to catch his breath and he said, “Nice shot Korvan, couldn’t be more perfect…..whew…...I don’t want to do that again.” He got back into his armour and he teleported to the cannon to see how the trapping of the power went, and it went flawlessly.

The cannon held together long enough for the Nebrechions to make slight changes and enhance the weapon. Vesuvius noticed Atlas was back walked over and asked, “How did you do that?” Atlas answered, “Very carefully. Now, there is a planet a little ways away that is in need of balancing, so I will make sure we get there, would you care to come along, and smell the air of an actual planet again?” Vesuvius thought for a little and said, “Yes, I would, being myself again after so long is, difficult to get used to.” Atlas said, “I know how you feel.” They teleported to the bridge and Atlas told Karee, “There is a planet in that direction over there, you can see the faint outline of it, it is in need of balancing, let us stop there first. We need to test out our new Helios Beam.” Karee nodded and asked, “What was the point of all of that.” Atlas said, “With the beam? That was simply to move it to a new home, and a much more powerful home, an upgrade essentially, now it will take half the time to clear a planet and reseed it. I’m fine before you ask, I am after all me. Korvan might be a bit shaken up though, so you might want to talk to him a little bit. I would prefer we reach that planet within the hour if possible. I will take a short walk, radio me if I am not back before then.” Atlas teleported out and started his daily walk around the Daedalus.

Atlas was deep in thought, mainly about how much raw power the Helios Beam actually gave out. Karee radioed him and said, “The planet is in clear sight, head on up.” Atlas teleported into the bridge and he saw the planet immediately. He told Karee to stop the ship where it was, he would take the prototype ship in from here. He cared little about the dangers on the planet, they would prove no match to his power now. He teleported both himself and Vesuvius into the hangar by the prototype ship and they entered it. Atlas opened the Hangar doors and said, “You think that the Daedalus can move, get ready for this.” Atlas threw full throttle and the ship shot out of the hangar at full speed. Vesuvius was not prepared for it either, the feeling of G-force once again affected him. Atlas steered the ship towards the plant which was unaware of what was about to happen when Atlas recognized the planet, as did Vesuvius. This was the planet where Atlas first learned the Soul Harvest ability. Atlas landed the ship near where he landed the Daedalus when it was an ant to what it is now. He and Vesuvius exited the ship and they were met by a small militia group whom were led by the head of their army. The Commander of their army asked, “Who are you and what are you doing here?” Atlas said, “We are here to….oversee some things.” The Commander asked, “Oh, are you the new drill instructor. We didn’t get a memo you were bringing another along.” Atlas said, “He was dropped on me at the last minute but I assure you he will not get in the way, I will follow you Commander.” The Commander led Atlas and Vesuvius towards the temple, which used to be a pristine beacon of the planet and is now a trashed site of war and ruin.

Atlas learned that when he killed the Headmaster and the other's the planet fought for many years to find out who would succeed them and rule, there were many disagreements all which ended with a different war. The planet was currently in a state of ‘peace’ in which negotiations were merely hiding another war about to erupt. Atlas knew he was to blame for this, and he felt unhindered and indifferent, he did not care they could not agree and find peace. They are unbalancing and he must keep his job going or the Master’s would guess on his true intentions and he would need to try a little harder than he wanted to, as they would not be caught off guard. Atlas got off of those thoughts and looked around the temple. The Commander noticed this and asked, “Have you been here before? You seem to be remembering and doing a lot of looking.” Atlas answered, “Yes actually, many years ago, this was where I was taught and I was one of the best. I didn’t want to leave here actually but I needed to travel back to home and save my planet……” he grew quiet and said, “.......but I was too late.” Vesuvius cut in, “Well, enough of that, don’t want to sour the mood do we? Let us continue.” They continued walking, and Atlas grew restless, he wanted to test his new improvements on the Helios Beam, but he had to play it out, or he would be caught by his Master’s. On the way the Commander asked, “When you were here did you now one by the name of Atlas by chance?” Atlas said dismissively, “No, I do not think I did, why?” The Commander led them into a room which Atlas knew only had one way out, nudging Vesuvius quickly and to where no one would notice Atlas whispered, “Ready your blade.” The Commander led them in a room and said, “That’s funny, because I did.”

As he said that the door slammed shut and he turned and removed his helmet, Atlas clearly remembering his face said, “Ah, Clay. Long time no see.” Clay smirked and said, “You will pay for driving this planet into the ground, I will avenge the Headmaster and the Blademaster, my father.” Atlas said, “Why avenge him, he lives. He resides in my ship which is in orbit over yonder, and he works for me believe it or not. I will tell him you said hi.” Clay grew angry and drew his sword, which Atlas in turn drew his when Vesuvius held a hand out in front of Atlas and said, “I haven’t had a fight in a long time that wasn’t with you, let me handle this one.” Atlas sheathed his blade and said, “Alright, Vesuvius, let him have it.” Vesuvius drew his blade and charged at Clay. they spared for several minutes, one not really gaining an edge over the other. While watching Atlas said, “Clay, you have improved, but you are not perfect. Your style is lacking something….It lacks, discipline.” With that Vesuvius threw in a spinning swipe which caught Clay off guard and Vesuvius took advantage of this. He staggered Clay then drove his sword through his chest. As Clay died, Atlas walked over to him and said, “Balance consumes you Clay, your father would be proud.” Atlas Soul Harvested Clay as he died and took his power and memories in an instant. It felt as easy to him as lifting his hand, and the influx of power barely affected him. The both of them drew their swords and traveled through the ruined temple to where the denizens fought for every scrap.

Atlas looked on, and he knew he was to blame, Vesuvius noticed Atlas was beginning to show his human qualities said, “It may have been by your sword that the world turned to this, but it was not by your hand it was seen done.” This brought Atlas back from his thoughts a little, but not entirely. They reached the makeshift town hall and entered with blades drawn, Atlas asked, “Where is you leader? We will have a word with them.” One of the soldiers jumped up and rushed him with a spear. Atlas swiped the spear away with his sword and grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Atlas said, “Do not make me ask again.” The man he was choking pointed in a direction down a hall to the left. Atlas said, “Good….” and snapped his neck with a crisp crack. Atlas dropped his body and it crumpled to the ground. Atlas said, “You go that way, I’ll go this way, kill the leader if you find him first and come find me.” Vesuvius nodded and they split up. Vesuvius quickly found that the soldier was not lying as he was met with at least 40 guards who all stood and went towards him. Vesuvius raised his blade and felt a familiar feeling to him, his hatred. The thing that earned him the nickname The Fire. he let it fill him and embrace him, he let his power flow, his armour glowed an even deeper fiery red and his arms and blade burst into flames along with his eyes. He met the gaze of the soldiers who were all scared beyond belief. Vesuvius asked, “So who’s first to fight The Fire?” The soldiers hesitated then they all charged towards him. Vesuvius lost control and blacked out. When he came to he only saw flames all around him, and charred bodies of what once was men. The shanty he was in was scorching and burning brilliantly.

He heard a clapping suddenly begin behind him, it was Atlas. Atlas said, “Now that is something I have not seen in a long time. You still have the gift my friend, now let's leave before this collapses, we have a cannon to test. Atlas and Vesuvius walked out of the flaming building, all onlookers watching them both casually stroll through the flaming building brought eyes of both fear and admiration. They reached the prototype ship as Atlas took out a small device and Vesuvius asked, “What is that for?” Atlas said, “This…” As he hit a red button on the device a large spotlight shot out of the top of the temple, the light shone fiercely and it traveled through space towards a single place, the Realm of the Three. Once back aboard the Daedalus Atlas said, “Korvan, let loose the new and improved Helios Beam.” Korvan asked, “Do you know if it will work?” Atlas said, “I trust in the Nebrechions, so yes it will.” Korvan hit the button and they heard what at first was a dull whirring which turned into a steady scream. After about 10 seconds an immense beam, much larger than the other Helios Beam ripped through space, distorting not only space but time along with it, twisting and contorting them both beyond belief. Atlas watched as the beam hit the planet and instantly killed all life on it, and the beam within seconds wrapped the entire planet and stopped as quickly as it started. Korvan hit the button to reseed the planet and Atlas said, “Now to the Realm of the Three, and make haste.”

Altas and Vesuvius stood on the bridge as the Realm of the Three steadily came into view, Atlas knew the light reached but he did not know what they thought of it if anything at all. He looked to Karee and Korvan, then to the Nebrechions hard at work monitoring the Daedalus’s systems. Atlas thought, ‘What if I fail? What happens to them? Will a new Reaper be crowned or will they all be killed?’ He quickly shot away those thoughts, he could not fail, he will not fail. Karee broke the silence by asking, “What are we doing back here so early, did they call you back?” Atlas said, “No, they did not call me back, another told me to go. I am here simply to find a few things out, and settle something once and for all, the less you all know the better.” Vesuvius cut in, “They are not the nicest of Master’s, but they are true and they will tell us what we must know in order to continue on this task. It makes it much easier.” Karee nodded and turned back to the control console and said, “We should be there within seconds.” Atlas said, stop here actually, we’ll take the prototype ship.” Korvan cut in and said, “I got a name for it, Grimm….” Atlas chuckled and asked, “As in Grim Reaper? I like it, Grimm, to The Grimm.” Korvan nodded and said as Atlas and Vesuvius walked away, “Exactly like the Grim Reaper.” Altas and Vesuvius teleported to the hangar to get aboard the newly christened ‘The Grimm’. Atlas took his blade out and scratched into the side of it the name in all caps, ‘THE GRIMM’ and he did the same on the other side to match.

He and Vesuvius climbed aboard and powered it on. Atlas opened the hangar doors and sped out at near top speed, Vesuvius still not used to flying this fast held on tight to his swords hilt and he tensed up. As they raced toward their hardest battle yet Atlas said only one word over and over again in his head, ‘Vengeance, Vengeance, Vengeance,.......’ He let his mind focus only on the atrocities the Five have committed, especially those against their own brother Veruchion. The countless quadrillions of species that suffered because of their lack of anything caring, only wanting more and more power for themselves and an absolute rule. That ends today, no longer will they gain off of the misfortunes of others even if they created them and the Universe, they will pay dearly for their mistakes and Atlas would see to it that they are punished in the most excruciating way possible, Soul Harvest. Atlas knew that if he could handle the Fourth he could handle the Five but not them all at once, or could he? He knew the Fourth was the strongest of them all but he was their equal as he had a little of them all within him, the Fourth was more of a son than a brother to them because of this but they considered him their brother. They forsook Veruchion, they did not try to save him from his fate they simply let it happen, this was a mistake and out of this mistake they began something, they wrote their end in this beginning, and Atlas was that end. He is that end, and the time has come.

They entered the Realm of Three, Atlas and Vesuvius looked out at the vast fields of white, Vesuvius a little speechless at the sight. Atlas noticed and said, “It is something to see is it not? Look ahead for a better one, where it will all go down within minutes. If you want to turn around you may, but if you want to go through with the plan and get your revenge then you may. I will go on as it is how it was supposed to be. You have a choice to leave or to stay, and I am giving you a chance to choose one. So what’ll it be, a fiery end, or a smoky retreat?” Vesuvius looked forward towards the Obsidian black towers and looked back towards Atlas while smirking and said, “A fiery end, and no other way.” Atlas smirked under his helmet and looked forward to the towers which seemed less like dedications to the ones they were made for and more like thrones of a corrupt court. Atlas brought The Grimm in to land and they both got out, Atlas turned The Grimm’s return protocol and and it sped off towards the Daedalus. Vesuvius asked, “Why is the ship leaving?” Atlas answered, “Should everything go well, we will need a faster escape then that ship will carry us. Also if we fail I told Korvan everything and that is actually the reason I moved the Helios Beam to the larger cannon. If we fail he is to fire the cannon into the Realm so I may absorb its power like I did when I reflected it but this time I will enhance its power with mine to ensure the destruction of all, and I will look to you to have a smart enough idea to teleport out into the Daedalus and take over my ship. You know it well and you know my crew well and I leave it to you should that happen because I will be trapped in here should that happen in an eternal fight with the Masters, one where neither side will win. Got it?”

Vesuvius nodded and said, “I got it. Now let us ascend and face what lies ahead.” Atlas nodded and walked towards the elevator platform and stood on it. Once Vesuvius stood on it it shot up, startling Vesuvius. Alas quickly said, “There will be one more at the top so be ready.” Vesuvius got his foothold and stood steady. The platform reached the top and stopped suddenly which brought Vesuvius a little sway but nothing major. They both turned to see the Three in deliberation about a certain anomaly they felt when they noticed Atlas had arrived at the top. Fate demanded, “Why are you here, we did not call for you, you have a job to do Reaper, return to it.” Atlas answered, “I have answers for you in fact, it involves that anomaly you question.” Destiny said, “Speak.” Atlas stepped forward, Vesuvius stood still. Atlas said “Veruchion was freed from me and I was told something by him, I was ordered by him and I followed it.” Time asked, “What did he order you to do Reaper?” Atlas started to levitate, Vesuvius flinched by the amount of power Atlas was letting out, radiating like a heatwave beating down on him. Atlas said in a voice that emanated power, “He told me how you let him succumb to his fate, you did not try to help. He gave me an idea of who you really are and how good of brothers you have been. He and I have become more one that you had originally thought, He granted me his power and knowledge, Veruchion is no more. His task for me was to…..make you pay for abandoning him.”

The Three looked at Atlas and became enraged at what he said. They threw their power towards Atlas in an attempt to subdue him, this only dropped him to one knee and he stood up to their amazement. He yelled with the same voice which thundered with power, “You gave me one job, balance. There is unbalance here, one stronger than the other, I will do what I was destined to do. I will bring you to your fates. Your...time...is….up.” With that Atlas let loose his power which hit the Three harder than they had ever been hit before and they were not ready for it. Atlas yelled, “Sad is the day when the servant becomes the master. An even sadder day when the peasant becomes the king. The end of all things when an orphan becomes the emperor. The beginning of a new end when the man becomes the god.” The Three fought back with all they had but they could not hold Atlas on their own. The Three called upon Archurion and Hebrechrion to their aid. As he two towering figures warped into form they felt the surge of power from Atlas almost immediately. Archurion yelled, “Reaper? What are you doing?” Atlas yelled back, “Veruchion sends his regards.” Atlas held out a hand and Soul Harvested Archurion, but with a twist. Atlas took his power, and sent all the pain from everyone he Soul Harvested before into Archurion, he funneled all the negative into him and took only the positive. As Archurion burned with the fierce fiery red energy he screamed, a scream which seemed to shatter the air in the Realm of the Three.

Hebrechrion was enraged by this and charged at Atlas who was now seething with power. Atlas threw the towering mass aside like he was nothing laughing all the while. He turned to the Three and yelled, “You brought this upon you when you forsook Veruchion. You brought your own end, and I am the vessel that sees it done.” He stuck a hand out to Hebrechrion and did the same thing he did to Archurion, but it was much worse this time as it added Archurions pain into it as well which effectively tripled the pain Hebrechrion felt. Once more air shattering screams filled the Realm and echoed only by Atlas’s maniacal laughs. The Three yelled at Atlas, “You cannot kill us, the Realm and this Universe will fall into chaos, one cannot rule this plane.” Atlas yelled back, “Watch me.” Atlas rushed forward and drew his sword, he gathered his power and charged it into himself and his sword and he grew, a blinding light flashed throughout the Realm stunning the Three and even Vesuvius who was currently hiding in the back away from the fight as to not get crushed by the immense power being thrown about by Atlas and the Three.

Once the light died down the Three saw charging at them Atlas, but he was larger, much larger. He was as tall as Hebrechrion and he was glowing a multitude of shades of red going from the fierce fiery color of Vesuvius’s armour to the dark scarlet of blood. His eyes shone a fierce fiery yellow and his body was engulfed in flames of immense heat. Atlas laughed and said, “Let me show you the face of true balance.” He slammed into Fate and threw him back, Destiny and Time both attacked from the side but Atlas was not worried, he had won the fight as soon as he Soul Harvested Hebrechrion. Atlas swung around in a full circle at a blinding speed, Time managed to duck out of the way but Destiny tried to block it with a blade of his own. As Atlas’s sword collided with Destiny’s it sent a ripple through space and time. A skipped beat through the Universe which disrupted the flow of Destiny. Atlas swung again and again into Destiny’s blade, sending ripple after ripple throughout the Universe. Fate and Time both realized what Destiny was doing and they drew their respective weapons and went to help their brother. Fate had a war hammer and he charged at the back of Atlas and he slammed it into his back, which sent a ripple throughout the bindings of Fate across the Universe. Time rushed in with an axe as he chopped at Atlas’s back alongside the slams of Fate’s hammer. With each cleave from the axe a ripple was sent through the shards of Time across the Universe and their final plan was being attempted. After about 10 seconds of ripple after ripple being sent through the Universe Atlas caught on to what they were doing, he laughed and delivered a final blow to Destiny’s blade and it shattered.

He threw Fate and Time off of him and he Soul Harvested Destiny, delivering pain beyond recognition to him. Atlas grew the more power that went into him, and the air around him sparked and warped, seeming to break the very reality around him. He turned to Fate and Time and smirked. He started to walk towards them and they stood, weapons drawn ready to give their all but they knew they would not win, Atlas had too much power. They rushed Atlas as he did them, they clashed for what seemed like eons in a timeless realm. They knew Atlas was toying with them by the effortless blocks of every blow they tried to strike. Atlas yelled during their fight, “Good try on the ripples, too bad I stopped them from reaching the end of this Realm. You had tried but in vain. Balance always win, you all taught me that, but you did not believe it. Do you now?” With that he sent out a massive shockwave which cracked the floor he was standing on and caused the two towers on either side to fall. As the towers fell the Realm seemed to as well, the sky started to warp and distort from a greyish white to black splotches. The fields of white corrupted to black and the way out started to close.

Atlas yelled, “It would be nice to finish this fight but we all know the outcome…..” He held out both hands, his plan was to Soul Harvest them both at the same time, “....Balance has come to take you, succumb.” When he finished that sentence he Soul Harvested both Fate and Time in unison. Atlas felt the surge of power enter him and he looked at them both slowly being taken by the fiery red energy when he heard Time yell to the rear of the Realm, “Vaar kahn min nerr, fuur kier kahn mahn noir.” Atlas knew what he said and he was not worried about the outcome of it, he would be strong enough to contend with the one who would come from it, should he choose to arise that is. Atlas said to both Fate and Time, “You may call, he may not answer. You are beating around the proverbial bush. Succumb and let the end embrace you. Farewell Master’s, Veruchion has his vengeance.” Immediately after Fate and Time were dead Atlas reverted back to his normal form and teleported back to Vesuvius, grabbed him, and he teleported to the Daedalus. Once their, Atlas watched the Realm of the Three waver, warp, and eventually close. Karee asked, “What happened in there?” Atlas teleported away and left Vesuvius to answer that question. Vesuvius said, “The Five tried to kill us.” Karee asked, “What happened to them?” Vesuvius said proudly, “Atlas killed them, all of them. He is now the master of this Universe, he is now the One.” Vesuvius walked out of the bridge leaving Karee and Korvan speechless, and looking back towards what once was the entrance to the Realm of Three.

Atlas was deep in meditation when he was approached by Anahira. He stopped his meditation and said, “Before you say anything, first let me. The plan went awry, the Five tried to kill me and well, you can see how that turned out for them. They will no longer be bothering us, we are free, You are free, you may go where you want and do what you want forever. How does that sound?” She answered, “Your lying.” Atlas asked, “What do you mean?” Anahira glared at him and said, “Don’t think I’m stupid. I know when your lying, even with that damned helmet on. This was your plan wasn’t it. Kill the Five and take their power.” Atlas stood and said, “No it was not, how could you say something like that?” She yelled, “Don’t lie to me Atlas. You have already lied to me far more than a person should be lied to. I was right about you, you changed. You changed so much you aren’t even Atlas anymore, you’re something else, something worse. You’re power hungry and evil. You say I can do anything I want, I wanted to stay on Earth, I wanted you to stay dead, I wanted to live my life and not the life someone chose for me. You think you saved my life, you ruined it. Thanks for that.” She stormed out leaving Atlas alone. Atlas felt every word she said, each one hurting him more and more. He thought through all she said until he realized, she was right.

Atlas removed his helmet and looked at the front vizor. A pure black vizor with a crisp white skull detailed into the front of it. This helmet was Atlas’s helmet, this armour was Atlas’s armour. He removed his sword and scabbard from his belt. This was Atlas’s sword. He realized out of he and Veruchion’s quest he had become the very thing he strove to stop, unbalanced. He removed his armour and looked at his hands. He walked over to a mirror and looked at himself. He had not done this in what felt like eons. He could not recognize his own face anymore, he only saw a stranger in the reflection. He started his walk through the Daedalus. He looked at all those aboard, not knowing who they were working for and who he had become. Atlas stopped at the bridge which at the moment only had Korvan and Karee in it. They gave him a weird look as he walked in without his armour or sword, only the clothes he left Earth with. Karee asked, “You alright Atlas?” Atlas shook his head and said, “No. We lied.” Korvan asked, “About what?” Atlas answered, “Everything. I killed the Five out of bloodlust and in the name of Veruchion. They did not betray us, I betrayed them. I’m going to finish my walk and I’m not sure what I’m going to do so I’ll see you later.” Atlas left them all speechless once again and they said nothing as he left and sat in silence even after he left for a long while.

As Atlas walked he could not think straight, all he had done was destroyed within seconds with words no more real than the floor he walked on. He looked around a the halls which he walked through and saw nothing, he took a few more turns and came upon a section of the Daedalus he had not gone to since he first upgraded it all those long years ago, or what felt like it anyway. That's the thing about space travel and immortality, time no longer has you under its control, you no longer fear your end and thus you become something more than a simple living being. You become empty, false, nothing like what you were, never able to go back. That's when Atlas thought, ‘Go back. Back to before Atlas, before all of this, give her the wish, go back to him being dead.’ Atlas walked into the room which had not changed, nor had it been visited since the Seer first woke him up in it. He looked around at the small room, which used to be the largest on the Daedalus, before he chose to call it that. He found a small book hidden in one of the corners. He picked it up and dusted it off and read the cover to himself, ‘Reaper of That Which Was Sown’. He opened to the front page and began to read. After about 20 minutes he closed the book and knew who wrote this, the Seer. this book was about who Atlas was to become and what good he would do for the Universe. He not only let Anahira down, but the Seer as well. All because of his quest for more power, and because of Veruchion’s quest for power and vengeance.

Atlas walked to the hangar where Vesuvius was busy wandering around and trying to help some Nebrechions figure out a lighting issue when he approached Atlas. Vesuvius started to say something when Atlas held a hand up and shook his head, Vesuvius stopped. Atlas got into The Grimm and said, “I will most likely not be back for a while, I have a little trip to make. Your in charge until I get back, so do pretty much whatever. Also the fixtures loose.” Vesuvius looked back at the light and the Nebrechions tightened the fixture and the light resumed normal functions. The Nebrechions quickly exited the hangar and Vesuvius soon followed. Atlas exited the hangar and took off in the direction of where the Realm of Three was once located, toward a part of space so black it felt like it was not possible. Atlas placed a hand on the engine and supercharged it, he also used his power to keep the engine together as the ship shot forward at near 100 times the speed of light. He could not feel the acceleration from the ship which he thought odd but then remembered when he was on the last planet. He could not feel the wind or the air around him, only the energy given off by it. He was too powerful to have feelings of a normal being, he was for lack of better words, a god. He was the most powerful being in the Universe and he thought this would make him happy. He was far from it however.

He arrived at his destination within a couple hours, deep within the inky black space which technically did not exist, but since he had the Five’s power within him he tricked the Universe into letting him through, which he thought was funny. The ones who made this exit, never planned on someone going back through it. Atlas kept his course, the entire time he felt the energy around him dropping and rising extremely fast and often. He kept on this course for another couple hours and eventually came upon a single tower. A stark white tower in an interdimensional plane which Atlas recognized from the Five’s memories, only one of them actually from each. He remembered the one whom he seeked, and then remembered only the deep dark endless abyss cast out, which he just traveled over from the Universe they created. Atlas felt a presence, far greater than the Five combined, a presence that loomed within the white tower, the presence he was searching for. He landed The Grimm on the top of the tower and started descending it. The tower was nearly 10 times the size of all three towers from the Realm of Three combined, and he had only a scarce amount of memories to find his way. Atlas reached the bottom of the steps he was descending. He arrived at a small room, with a single door on the wall opposite the stairs. This door was large, nearly stretching to the ceiling, falling only feet short. The room itself was very tall, and not very wide. It was a white room as well, there lacked any other color except the dark grey shadows cast by light that seemed to just exist and had no clear source.

Atlas opened the door and entered a very long, what he thought was a hallway, but was instead a throne room. At the very end of the room sat a solitary figure sitting in a chair, deep in thought. The figure was leaning on one fist while the same arm rested on his knee, he did not look up until Atlas came within 20 feet. Atlas quickly realized this figure towered over him, far more than the Five had, and far more than he had when he released all of his power. The figure straightened themself in the chair, sitting up taller. Atlas was about to speak when the figure said with a deep thunderous voice that echoed throughout the room and Atlas’s mind, “Do not speak, I know who you are…” The figure stood up and continued saying, “.....I know what you have done to my creations. My Five are dead, but their energy has remained. I knew this day would come. You, Reaper, are here for redemption are you not? To return the Universe my Five created to it’s true state, its balanced state? I can help you but first you must prove to me something.” Atlas asked, “What do I need to prove to you if you already know who I am? I don’t even know who you are even though I have the memories of your ‘Five’.” The figure said, “You do know me, even though you think you do not. You will show me your power, strike me with everything you have, so I know you are in fact the one who will finally show me.” Atlas thought that last comment was weird. What does he mean by finally be the one? Were there others beside himself that had followed this path, other Reapers? He tossed these thoughts aside and gathered his strength. Atlas charged all of the power he could muster into himself, causing him to take on the form he had when he had ended the Five’s reign, his final form.

Atlas closed his eyes as he first took on the shape, then opened them once he was fully empowered. The figure looked on and said, “Impressive, but I said strike me with everything you have, not put on a new mask. Hit me.” Atlas threw his power at the figure who did not flinch when it hit him, he merely laughed and said, “Is that all you’ve got, I want to see you angry. Anger is the only fuel for true power. NOW GET ANGRY.” The figure threw him aside effortlessly and this actually enraged Atlas, none had stood up against his power, why was it failing him this time. He knew this being was strong, but could he have been lied to about exactly how strong. Atlas kept throwing himself at the figure who constantly taunted him and provoked him. Atlas finally reached his breaking point, he let loose all of the anger, not only from his memories, but from the memories of those he had Soul Harvested. As he gathered this anger the figure took several slow steps back, and started to watch. Once Atlas had gathered all of his anger he looked at the figure and shot a beam of energy towards him. This beam sent a torrent of energy screaming towards him, and he did not move. The figure yelled over the sound of the beam of energy, “You wish to know who I am Reaper, I am Reicurion, Creator of All, your tongue would call me…..” He paused as the beam reached him. A split second followed by a blinding light which resulted in Atlas hearing only one thing being yelled by the figure, “.....REALITY.”

With that flash Atlas’s mind went black, he awoke in the same hall, the figure, Reicurion, was back on his throne. Atlas thought, to himself, Reality? This is the creator of everything he could see, hear, feel, touch, everything. This being was the one called god, the center of everything, the single architect of this…..reality. That’s when it hit him, this is what he was destined to do. The Five where simply pawns in a much bigger game, and he would find out how. Atlas stood, Reality said, “Take your time getting up, you are indeed the one I have been seeking. I assume you will need an explanation for all of this, I will give it to you. I come from a distant plane, one I have not visited nor do I plan on ever again. This plane was immense, and is the source of all energy that has ever and will ever exist. It was constantly at war, never ending and every peace was only planning for another war. I had become fed up with it and so I made this Plane, one of my own making, as you have with your research area, but well as you can see on a much larger scale. I created a set amount of things in the beginning, One being this tower, and the other being the Five. I also created single being, one whom you met early into your days as Reaper for my Five. He is the one that taught you your Soul Harvest ability and it is he who gave you your true destiny. I may not return to my plane, but you will. You have been the only one in the immeasurable attempts at this planes life cycle, if you will, to ever prove you are ready. You are to be placed into my plane, and balance it. I will however help you in returning this plane to its rightful status, returning everything back to what it was, when you died on Earth.”

Atlas cut into this, “So you’re saying I was meant to do all of this and reach you?” Reality said, “Yes you were, are you surprised of this? You think that you beat the Five merely on your power, no. It was I that allowed you to be taught the ability to take the energy and power from anyone and anything native to this plane, which is why it will not work on me, I am not native to this plane.” Atlas said, “So how will we go about fixing this plane? I failed in the one promise I lived my life by, I will take the punishment of my fate and follow it, unfaltering and unwaveringly.” Reality said, “I know about your promise, to see how passionate you are, or were, about keeping it impresses me. You threw her life before yours, and you sacrificed many things for her, admirable.” Atlas said, “I will do one more thing for her before I go to the next plane.” Reality said, “You are going to grant her the wish are you not?” Atlas said, “Yes.” Reality nodded his head and said, I will start the process, but you will feel everything you have made others feel, once you are in the plane you must start wherever you deem fit and never stop in your quest.” Atlas said, “I cannot fail again, failing her was the last time I will fail anyone or anything, that I swear.” Reality held out a hand towards Atlas, he reached out with his power and grasped Atlas. Atlas closed his eyes, slowly being exposed to all of the pain he caused to all of those he had effected. Atlas’s mind exploded with pain and misery, the entire time he said to himself, ‘I am deserving, I am deserving,....” He repeated this to himself through the entire process, and as he neared the end of it his vision slowly faded to black. The last pains that ripped through his mind were those of Anahira, and he said for one final time but aloud, “I am deserving of the fate that befalls me, no other destiny but the one that now bides my time…..” This was finished by Reality, “.....in a reality no longer fit for the Reaper of That Which Was Sown.”

Rain poured down, just as the tears did. She stood, alone, by the stone that showed the final resting place of him. Upon the smooth face of the stone read a solitary statement, “One day all must succumb to the end, even the Reaper himself, as the end is written in the beginning, and none can escape it.” She read this and looked towards the sky and knew. She knew he was somewhere, looking down on her. He was in a place, a place better than where she was currently. She looked back at the stone, the stone who had a single, solitary name etched into it above the statement, Jack L. Mors. She looked at the name and shed a final tear, holding her hands over her heart. She would never forget him, and eventually she knew, somehow, someway, she would see him again. She turned away from the stone and walked away. With every step she took it sent a ripple through the Universe, through the nothing beyond, and directly into the plane beyond. The ripple went straight towards a single being. When this ripple reached him, he smiled and he knew who it was, and he sent one straight back. He closed his eyes and followed the ripple back to her. She stopped and closed her eyes as well. They both stopped moving, and not for the final time, connected with each other. This moment lasted only for a few seconds but each of them knew, they each knew the other was there, and that they were waiting. As the ripples died away and each went their separate ways, the feeling slowly went away. On that day Atlas, Jack, and any other name given to the being died. His final act was one following his promise. He is, no he WAS the, Reaper of That Which Was Sown.